Roller mill with pivoted roll support



J ly 17, 1.951 c. J. ALCIATI ET AL ROLLER MILL WITH PIVOTED ROLL SUPPORT 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 6, 1947 July 17, 1951 c. J. ALClATl ETAL ROLLER MILL WITH PIVOTED ROLL SUPPORT 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 6. 1947 INVENTOR.

C. J. ALCIAT] ETAL ROLLER MILL WITH PIVOTED ROLL SUPPORT 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 July 17, 1951 Filed Oct. 6, 1947 MOM 09% finale/var:

July 17, 1951 c. J. ALClATl ETAL 2,560,837

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Patented July 17, l951 ROLLER MILL WITH PIVOTED RQLL SUPPORT Charles J. Alciati and Arthur J. Andersen, San Francisco, Calif., assignors to Moore Dry Dock Company, Oakland, Calif., a corporation of California.

Application October 6, 1947, Serial No. 7 78,246

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to grinding mills and particularly to a grinding mill that is suitable for grinding coffee, seeds, spices, etc. in which conventional steel rolls are employed for performing the work.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a mill provided with means for quickly adjusting the rolls from outside the mill to precise and accurate spacing thereof so as to enable the accurate grinding of material to the desired fineness.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a mill in which tramming of the rolls is more easily and quickly accomplished than heretofore.

An additional object of the invention is the provision of a mill having improved means for setting the rolls with equal yieldable tension thereon including bell cranks and coil springs operatively connected with one of the arms of the cranks.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a mill that is easily and quickly opened up for any replacements or for examination, and that is as easily reassembled, and which mill is self cleaning by reason of the elimination of ledges and the like that tend to accumulate material.

Another object is the provision of structure in a mill that enables the quick assembly of a plurality of mills in a vertical row for grinding of material "to different degrees of fineness according-to the number of mills and the'setting of the rolls in 'each'milL-and which structure enables the use of one'or more of the mills as desired without disassembling a battery'of the same.

'I-Ieretofore mills -*of the general type herein considered have been so constructed as to make adjustment of the rolls and tramming thereof a very difficult and arduous task that required the dismantling -of the mills. Also the spacing of the rolls during operation of the mills could not be performed with any degree of accuracy norcou'ldsamples of the'ground product beeasily taken at any point within the mills during operation thereof.

'With "the present invention all of the objections are overcome. 'The rollscan be readily inspected and replaced if desired, without comple'tely dismantling the mill. "Tramming of the rolls'is quickly accomplished and accurate changing of the-spacing between-the rolls to known distances canbe accomplished almostinstantaneously. Furthermore the operatorcan quickly take a sample of the product being :groundat 2 any desired point within a mill without stopping the mill or mills and without in any wa interfering with the normal ,opeartion of the mill or mills.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the detailed description and in the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of one of the mills.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational View of one of the mills with portions broken away and in section.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged and elevational view of one of the mills.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View taken along line l l of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line 55 of Fig. 3.

.Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through a portion of a scraper adjusting means.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of a plurality of mills in a'vertical row.

In detail each grinding mill of the present invention comprises a housing that is horizontally divided into an upper portion and a lower portion, which portions are removably secured together by bolts or the like.

The upper portion of each housing comprises opposed vertically disposed end plates I, 2. Horizontally elongated side walls 3, l extend between said end plates l, 2 the said side walls forming the front upper side and the rear upper side .of the housing. Walls 3, 4 are formed with flanges 5 at theirends for bolting said walls to the upper end plates l, 2. These walls 3, 4 extend divergently downwardly from their upper edges and have horizontal coplanar oppositel outwardly extending flanges it formed along their upper edges, and similar horizontal, coplanar oppositely outwardly extending flanges l along their lower edges '(Fig. 4). Theend plates [,2 have flanges 8 along their upperedges that are coplanar with flanges 6, and flanges 9 along the lower edges of said end plates are coplanar with the flanges 1, except that the lower edges are recessed at spaced points for the shafts of the rolls as will later be. explainedmore in detail.

The lower portion of each housing comprises opposite end plates Ill, ii that are flanged along their :upper edges at l:2 for bolting to flanges 9 that are formed along the lower edges of the upper end plates 5, 2. These lower end plates 1m, 1! are also flanged at it along their lower edges for bolting to anydesired discharge hopper or forleolting .to the flangesll of the upper portionof another mill that maybe therebelow, as occurs when a battery of the .mills is used to obtain diff erentgrinding stages.

Extending between lower end plates H), II, are lower horizontally elongated side walls l5, l6 that are flanged at their ends as at I! for bolting of said side walls to end plates I9, I I, while horizontal flanges l8 extend longitudinally of the said walls [5, [6 along their upper edges for bolting to the lower flanges l of the upper side walls 3, 4. Flanges I9 along the lower edges of the lower walls are for bolting to the upper flanges 6 of walls 3, 4. The lower walls l5, 16 extend convergently downwardly from their upper edges.

It is pertinent to note that the coplanar flanges 6, 8 around the upper edges of the housing are adapted to be bolted to flanges I3, I 9 around the lower edges of another identical housing whereby a vertical row of mills as indicated in Fig. 7 may be assembled.

The adjacent lower and upper edges of the end plates I, I and 2, II are complementarily recessed at spaced points therealong to provide a pair of horizontally spaced openings 2!, 22 along the junctures between said end plates for passing the opposite ends of the shafts 23, 24 at the ends of the grinding rolls 25, 26 therethrough.

The lower end plates H), II are respectively provided with the lower halves 21 of bearings for the end shafts 24 of roll 26, this roll being stationary relative to the housing insofar as any radial movement thereof is concerned. The upper half 28 of each bearing is removably secured to the lower half 21 by bolts. It is to be noted that rolls 25, 26 are horizontally disposed in side by side relationship and the lower half 2! of the bearings for roll 26 face generally in the direction of the roll 25, the line of division between the upper and lower halves of the bearings being along the line 29 (Fig. 3). Thus the radial lateral thrust of the lower roll is adequately taken by the lower halves 21 of the bearings supporting roll 25, which lower halves 2! are in turn bolted to supports 30 integral with the lower end plates II), II.

The other roll 25 of the pair is supported at its ends in bearings carried by the upwardly extending short arms 3| of cranks that are pivotally supported on the lower end plates H), II by coaxial pivots 32,

The bearing on each of said arms is divided into a lower half 33, that is similar to the lower half 21, and an upper half 34 is removably secured to said lower half by bolts. The line of division 35 between halves 34, 33 is inclined oppositely to line 29 so that the lower halves 33 will adequately take the lateral radial thrust of the roll 25 when material is being ground between the rolls. Each pivot 32 extends eccentrically through a rotatably adjustable bearing I32 releasably clamped between the head of pivot 32 and the end plate into which the pivot is threaded (Figs. 2, 3)

The long arms 46 of the cranks carrying the roll 25 extend horizontally and parallel in direction outwardly of the front side of the housing, and each of said arms is pivotally connected at 4| (Fig. 3) adjacent its outer end to the lower end of a vertically upwardly extending rod 42, the upper end of which extends through an aperture in the closed upper end of the upper portion 43 of a cylindrical spring housing. The lower open end of said portion 43 telescopically receives the open upper end of a lower cylindrical portion 44, and the lower closed end of this portion 44 is apertured for slidably passing rod 42 therethrough. Said lower end is also supported on a support 45 that is rigid with the main housing of the mill (Fig. 3). Between the closed ends of each spring housing is a coil spring 46 that reacts against the said ends thereby tending to yieldably move rod 42 and the outer end of the long crank arm 40 upwardly when said spring is compressed. A nut 41 on the upper end of rod 42 above the closed upper end of said portion 43 of the spring housing is for adjusting the tension on the spring, assuming the arm 40 is blocked from being freely elevated, as is the case, and as will be explained.

It is to be understood that there is one of the above spring housings and springs therein adjacent each end of the mill, and these are identical, and an identical rod 42 connected with each of the arms 40 at said opposite ends of the mill extends through each spring 46. Great care is taken to make each pair of springs 46 on each mill exactly the same so they will provide equal tension upon being equally compressed.

The outer ends of crank arms 40 adjacent the pivots 4| are secured against being pulled upwardly by engagement between the flat upper end of a vertically adjustable cam adjusting pin 64 on each of such ends and the flat lower side 48 of an eccentric cam sleeve 49 that is rotatably supported on an eccentric cam 50 that in turn is secured on each end of an eccentric cam shaft 52 (Figs. 2, 3)

The shaft 52 is journalled in bearings rigid with the main housing of the mill, and a manually actuatable lever 53 is secured at one end to said shaft 52 for rotating the same.

Adjacent lever 53 is a quadrant 54 (Figs. 3, 5) formed with a pair of rows of openings 55 therein, and said lever carries a pair of taper ended pins 56 (Fig. 5) for the openings of each row. Springs 51 are provided for tending to urge the pins 56 into whichever of holes 55 is adapted to receive one or the other of the pins for locking the cam shaft in whatever position is desired. Knurled knobs 58 on the pins can be grasped by the finger for withdrawing them to permit rotation of the lever.

Returning to the spring housings 43, 44 it is seen that calibrations or graduations 59 are on the inner lower portion 44 to enable the operator to adjust each of the two housings so as to produce absolutely equal tension on the springs, and which tension, as seen from the foregoing description, is transmitted to the cam contact sleeves 49. Thus upon a predetermined pressure between the rolls 25, 26 the latter may open up against the tension of springs 46, but the spacing between the rolls is determined by the degree of rotation of the eccentric cam shaft 52 in one direction or the other. This spacing must or should be extremely accurate so the operator can regulate the spacing to say at least .001 of an inch. The double row of openings 55 enables such adjustment, since the holes in the rows are in Staggered relationship. The use of the taper pins for holding the lever in the desired position insures a positive lock that cannot accidentally be released, yet one that can be readily released by the operator when desired.

It is to be noted that an opening 60 on the quadrant is somewhat removed from the openings 55. This opening is used when the operator desires to fully open the rolls so the material will freely pass therebetween. An opening 6| between opening SI] and. the row of openings 55 may be used where the mill is one in a series or battery, and it is desired that the previously ground material pass between the rolls without further grinding thereof (Figs. 3)

. As es xsen Fi a p cre vel ad: i 5. jlihs zbmts Glare? d d. hese be i s carried by bracket isma ag d the roll bearings, and which..pai r of bolts'iii'aybe at each of the opposite end ar the mm, The purptse pr these bolts is .to. preventany possible a contact be tween the reusirrespecuve 'of rotatio'rifof the eccentric cam shaft. Engagementbetween the bolts Will occur before the rolls can Strike each other. a e'elqw each or the rails 25, 2a is n elongated scraper blade 6.5 (Figs. l, 6), The opposite ends of the blade below roll 25 are each carried oh an eccentric pin B6 of an eccentric shaft bl that extends through a bearing '68 that in turn threadedly extends through the ,l9 wer, side Wall of the ll h i l 1 9 PP? 3ml %?P 128I through the side wan l5 and two through w'all I6. Each mounting for each s is the 'saine so only one will be liesc'ribed in "detail;

Eachshait 61 has a fiangeE-S that engages the nnerse d. .Qf... b. arins. t6. and n "i qutside theh u i W. lt setb rn thflange 69 1ock t bear n 8 gai st ari lmqr men tuaqnr leasing thenu .l ..,th ea n 6. can be mo axially thereof, to carry the blade 65 in the same d re t n. ..The outer end qi the eccentric shaft M is threaded for anutll, This nut ll tightens the sh ft ag inst rotation, bu Wh nthe nut i loosened, the ,shaft ill can be rotated thereby elevating onlowering the scraper blade. Once an adjustmentof the scraperjblades is accurately made (the latter does not. contact therolls). it

seldom requires change, but the eccentricshafts that are releas blyh ld ,qlqsed by-rotary spring I urged catcher 75. These riders are so formed that theyoffer no ledges or the like 'for the acc'un'iula tion of material. The central portions oi" the door are formed to progressively bxtend th'rough said openings 13 from the upper to lowere dges of the op'eriings so that'the said central portions will'extend over the'lower edges of it h'eopenijrlgs thereby preventing any material from lodging on said lower edges.

Openings 16 are formed in each of th lower id was is, us, whicil' 'penings 'are similar to the openings is. DoOrs TlHQ sesaidl penings, and hereag ain the centralportions of said doors extend through the opening to cover the lower edges of the latter and to prevent the lodgement of material around said doors. Spring latches l8 releasably hold the lower doors closed.

These doors '54, ll are adapted to be completely removed from the mill housing, having lips 89 that extend over the inner lower marginal portions of the door opening, while the latches 15, 18 hold the outer flanges 8| against the outer sides of the door openings. The lower openings provide access to below the rolls 25, 26 so that samples of the material being ground can be taken at any time without stopping the mill.

The upper openings provide access to the space above the rolls, and if an examination of the material from below the rollers shows that the rolls are not parallel, and the material is being ground finer at one end that the other, the operator can readily adjust the rolls to position them in proper parallel relationship, this tramming being done through the upper openings without disassembling the mill.

A feed ,chute extending ltiigit idmauy cr th rol s dapte an .fe s materi t twe the said rolls throughout their length. This chute has convergently downwardlyextending sides 82 andend walls thatare provided with outwardly extendingilang'es 83 (Fig. 4) at the upper edges thereof; The upper edges of the side wallsli, and end walls I, 2 are recessed to receive flanges 83.

Between the ends of the chute sides and at points: corresponding substantially to the openings 13, the sides of the fixed chute are cutaway and -converg'ently downwardly extending plates 34. on the inner sides of the chutes extend across said cut away portions. These plates 84 are hinged al'ongtheir upper edges at 85 to the main fixed chute above the cut away portions, and the said plates 84 are oifa length that permits them to be swung upwardly and out of the Way while the operator is tramming the rolls. I This structure also prevents lodgment of material anywhere within the chute.

Above the inillis, anysuitable feed device, such as a feed hopper having a passageway 8d that leads to a disributor roll 8l, This roll is connected with anysuitablesourc'e oi power for rotating it under a vertically adjustable feed gate 83, the control, of whichis by means of exposed screws '89 at the ends of the 'gate 'and which screwsare at, the front sides?! or the feed devi .The a d gate 'isvi de n re t n away from the roller against the tension of spring Bl around the screws but the ate is held by the screws against movement toward the roll unless the thumbnut' 92 on said screws are rotated to release thescrews. A The lower end of the iee'd device is flanged to enable securement of said device on the flanges aroundthe up l 'r edgejofthe mill'housing.

, The roll sha'fts23, Z'A at the ends thereof opposite the ends adjaent the quadrant, are pro-- aided with gears 953, 9 5 that are in. mesh with each other and the'shaft 24 at the end adjacent said quadrant may carry apulley 9. forconnecti'ng sjaids'haft with any suitablesource of power. Afs'procket gear 'Qt on shaft 2 may also connect the s ame with theshaft of the distributor roll 8'! 'by'meja'hs of'a chain 93. y M

e As see n in Fig. 'l'thepresent structure enables the asjsernblyfo'i a mill having-as many stages as desired. In somejin'stance'sit may be found desirable to use only a one stage mill, in which case only'oneunit need be used, the others being rendered. inoperative by opening the rolls to their fullest spacing.

In still other instances it may be desirable to have the rolls of progressively closer spacing commencing with the rolls of the top unit. This is readily done by merely swinging the adjusting lever 5-3 to the proper position as indicated by the numerals or indicia identifying the openings 55 in the quadrant. Any desired spacing of the rolls can be done while the mill is in operation.

Should it be found necessary to replace rolls, this is readily done by removing the upper end plates of the unit so as to permit such removal of the rolls and replacement by others.

No material will lodge in the mill because all surfaces where there might be a lodgment slant downwardly and are, therefore, self cleansing.

The fiat engaging surfaces between the contact sleeves 9 and the cam adjusting pins 41 substantially eliminate any Wear that might otherwise prevent the accurate spacing of the rolls and the springs 46 provide for a uniform tension of any desired degree against the roll 25.

It is to be noted that the aligned openings in the ends of the mill housing are horizontally elongated to permit adjustment of roll 25. These openings as well as the openings 22 have dust seals 99 of felt or the like closing them at all times so no dust will escape from the mill. When desired the entire upper half of the mill housing can be removed. 1

Tramming of the rolls is quickly accomplished by rotation of the eccentric sleeves 132 as desired.

Also it is important to note that the openings 55 in the quadrant are identified by numerals 155 that designate the spacing of the rolls in thousandths of an inch, thus enabling the opera tor to quickly provide the desired exact spacing of known value and to change from one exact known spacin to another exact and known spacing.

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be restricted to the precise details shown and described, inasmuch as the detailed drawings and description are merely illustrative of a preferred form of the invention.

We claim:

1. A grindin mill comprising a pair of horizontally elongated grinding rolls, a housing enclosing said rolls, stationary bearings carried by said housing for rotatably supporting one of said rolls, a pair of movable bearings for rotatably supporting the opposite ends of the other roll of said pair, a bell-crank pivotally secured to said housing and provided with generally vertically extending arm for receiving one of said bearings at the outer end thereof, the other arm of said bell-crank being generally horizontal, eccentric means directly engageable with the outer end of said other arm for swinging the same to adjust the spacin between said rolls, said last mentioned means comprising a sleeve having a planar outer surface for engaging the outer end of said arm and an eccentric element supported for oscillation within said sleeve for so swinging said arm.

2. A grinding mill comprising a pair of horizontally elongated grinding rolls, a housing enclosing said rolls, stationary bearings carried by said housing for rotatably supporting one of said rolls, a pair of movable bearings for rotatably supporting the opposite ends of the other roll of said pair, a bell-crank pivotally secured to said housing and provided with generally vertically extending arm for receiving one of said bearings at the outer end thereof, the other arm of said bell-crank being generally horizontal, eccentric means directly engageable with the outer end of said other arm for swinging the same to adjust the spacing between said rolls, said last mentioned means comprising a sleeve having a planar outer surface for engaging the outer end of said arm and an eccentric element supported for oscillation within said sleeve for so swinging said arm, yieldable means connected with said other arm at a point between said eccentric means and the pivot of said bell-crank for yieldably resisting movement of said first mentioned arm in a direction away from said one roll.

CHARLES J. ALCIA'II.

ARTHUR J. ANDERSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 229,879 Frambaugh July 13, 1880 232,669 Blake Sept. 28, 1880 269,459 Poole Dec. 19, 1882 297,755 Case Apr. 29, 1884 314,278 Warrington Mar. 24, 1885 315,201 Willford Apr. 7, 1885 449,353 McAlpine Mar. 31, 1891 467,713 Alfree Jan. 26, 1892 672,617 Edison Apr. 23, 1901 1,027,206 Ingraham May 21, 1912 1,096,307 Kirksey May 2, 1914 1,103,727 Abbott July 14, 1914 1,311,352 Jones July 29, 1919 1,349,221 Nolen Aug. 10, 1920 1,561,093 McCarger NOV. 10, 1925 1,906,792 Gwillim May 2, 1933 2,058,869 Hazle Oct. 27, 1936 2,111,535 Miller Mar. 15, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 551,480 Great Britain Feb. 24, 1943 542,621 Great Britain Jan. 20, 1942 5,788 Great Britain Mar. 19, 1901 129,823 Germany Apr. 24, 1902 2,163 Great Britain June 26, 1880 27,178 Germany May 12, 1884 168,087 France Oct. 4, 1885 60,148 Germany Dec. 10, 1891 100,693 Switzerland Aug. 16, 1923 18,282 Great Britain of 1890 2,613 Great Britain June 26, 1880 

